‘The Vampire Diaries’: 1 Cast Member Will Have a Big Role in Julie Plec’s ‘Vampire Academy’
The Vampire Diaries creator Julie Plec is developing a Vampire Academy TV series. And she’s bringing a Vampire Diaries cast member into the fold. This won’t be the actor’s first foray into working on the production side with Plec. In fact, she’s worked with the producer on all of her vampire-themed shows, just not always as a cast member.
Marguerite MacIntyre will be a showrunner, executive producer, and writer for ‘Vampire Academy’
The Vampire Diaries’ Marguerite MacIntyre will be developing the series with Plec as a co-showrunner, executive producer, and writer. MacIntyre played Sheriff Liz Forbes, Caroline Forbes’ mom, in The Vampire Diaries. And both Plec and MacIntyre have been interested in making a Vampire Academy TV show for years.
“I think one day I’ll do a Flowers In the Attic mini and a Vampire Academy TV series and all will be right in the world,” Plec tweeted in 2015. She also signed an overall deal with Universal Television in 2020 and immediately set her sights on this adaptation.
“When I signed my new deal with Universal Television, they asked what project I had always been dying to make and my immediate answer was Vampire Academy,” Plec said, according to Deadline. She is also the one who introduced MacIntyre to the book series.
“Yes, to Vampire Academy series,” the actor tweeted in 2010. “Julie Plec recommended them and they’re addictive.”
Marguerite MacIntyre worked on ‘The Originals,’ ‘Legacies,’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries’
While fans probably know MacIntyre for her role as Sheriff Forbes, she has been involved with the entire Vampire Diaries universe. MacIntyre was a supervising producer for The Originals. And she worked as a story editor and staff writer throughout the entire series. The Originals started while The Vampire Diaries was still running, so she was working on both shows simultaneously.
MacIntyre also wrote two episodes of Legacies and is a consulting producer for the spin-off series. The 56-year-old acted in Kyle XY for three years before being cast in The Vampire Diaries. In 2020, she appeared in Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere.
Is ‘Vampire Academy’ connected to ‘The Vampire Diaries’?
Vampire Academy is based on Richelle Mead’s book series of the same name. A film adaptation of it came out in 2014 starring Zoey Deutch and Lucy Fry. Peacock gave the project a straight-to-series order. And the debut season will be 10 episodes long.
Although it involves Plec, vampires, and a cast member of The Vampire Diaries, the two shows are in no way connected. Vampire Academy follows the friendship between Rosemarie “Rose” Hathaway and Vasilisa “Lissa” Dragomir. They both attended the St. Vladimir’s Academy, where dhampirs like Rose are trained to be bodyguards for vampire royalty like Lissa. The series is filled with action, drama, romance, and scandal.
As Erin Underhill, President, Universal TV, said in a statement:
“From The Vampire Diaries to The Originals, Julie has mastered captivating audiences with memorable characters, compelling storylines and delicious escapism. Vampire Academy delivers them all. We are very excited to see Julie’s ambitious and creative vision of this distinct world come to life, and can’t wait to share the series with Peacock viewers. I have no doubt fans will love what she’s cooked up.”
It’s too early for any casting or release date announcements. But IMDb says the series could come out in 2022.
